Wednesday, January 16, 2008

The clouds were still overhead when the con started on Friday, but that didn't damper our spirits. I got there about 8:45AM - way before anyone else showed up. So, I just stuck around, hung out with people that trickled in, and caught more sleep. Eventually things would kick up when the con opened at 3PM, and the people started to pour in wanting their weekend badges. I was ready at my station - peace bonding - and for most of the afternoon I worked and did some crowd control at the front of the con. We had 3 seperate aisles - one for people who were coming in and paying, an exit lane, and a re-entry lane, so we tried to funnel everyone down the right path so that bottlenecks don't occur. I had the chance to meet all four Guests of Honor - Vic, Travis, Laura, and Darrel. I saw Laura Bailey and Travis Willingham at her panel in which I got my Gunslinger Girl DVD signed, just one of the many pieces of merchandise/official material that I would get signed. The Opening Ceremonies were awesome; highlights include all four Guests of Honor battling it out with silly string, and the two dance performances. The Rave went on and was very good, although I thought it was better to crash early and prepare for tomorrow.

As expected, Saturday was a big day. Yeah, it was still cloudy, but that didn't stop more people from coming. Again, I got there around 8:45AM, and I had half my costume already on - I just had to put the coat entail, coat, and my weapons on. At least this time around, everyone showed up around this time since we opened at 10AM. As a peace bonder, you get to see some very nice cosplay costumes, and I was able to get a few snapshots with my camera that I had purchased for just this one purpose - to take better con pictures. Since I heard that the Guests of Honor would be doing additional autograph sessions since they all kick ass, I brought more material for them to sign. The highlight of Day 2 was the FMA Panel; my god, that has to be the best panel I've sat in probably my whole entire con life. However, the panel ran for over 3 hours, not counting the time it took it spent for Vic, Travis, and Laura to sign, especially with the "one item per attendee" rule scrapped out because they love us so much. The gathering did happen, pretty late though, but at least they also showed up for the picture. I found out later that a bunch of other events that I was unaware of happened, such as another FMA photoshoot that the photographer from Conpix.net got, a giant game of Duck Duck Goose, and a giant Conga line out front. The bands came later that night, and I was able to get autographs from The Slants, who were freakin' awesome despite some sound issues. Later in the night was also the very anticipated Rayman Carrot Juice contest - yes, that mini-game. I was very suprised that I put up 2'08", although I knew that a handful of people could beat that time. Still, I ended up in 3rd place, not too bad. Yaoi bingo also took place during that time, and well I didn't win anything. Time for me to go home and get ready for the last day.

Finally, at last - it's a nice, partly cloudy day for the last day of the con. We knew this would be hectic day of them all, with Vic and Travis both running their panels, plus the Masquerade, which I was in. More autograph sessions took place, and in the end everyone went home happy with either autographs. But like always, the Masquerade will take any day of a con, and it sure did that day. There were some good skits and walk-ons, and everyone who won deserved their award for their particular reason. The intermission bits were just as good as the Masquerade - Azn Inspiration performed again, a nice going away dance for us to remember on. But of course, I will never forget how much me and a Riza Hawkeye cosplayer dominated in Anime Jeopardy. It went well for a game that was made an hour ago before the Masquerade started. Yeah, some still think I gloat over it, but hey we all have our memories from a con, and this is mine. By 8:30PM, I was tired and I decided to head on home to rest.

Sure, it's a change of pace from what we experience back in the Red Lion Inn, but everyone put their hard work into putting this con on, and it KICKED ASS! Thanks to everyone who made this possible!